Ethiopian to Launch New Services to Dammam - 27 January, 2012

Ethiopian is pleased to announce that it will launch new nonstop flights from Addis Ababa to Dammam, the capital of the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia, as of February 02, 2012. Dammam is a large metropolitan and industrial area that lies on tip of land stretching out into the Persian Gulf. Dammam is also a major seaport, involved in a wide variety of export and import. It is a center for petroleum and natural gas and all commerce in the eastern parts of the kingdom.

Dammam is also well known for its tourist attractions such as the Coastal Sports Center, Half Moon Beech, King Fahd Park and Alkhleej Makarim Village where tourists can engage in mountain climbing, hiking, skiing or surfing. Mr Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines says, "The new flight services to Dammam provide opportunities for business people as well as tourists to explore Dammam’s investment and leisure potentials."

Dammam will be Ethiopian’s 8th destination in the Middle East and its 64th worldwide. The new flight schedule will be as follows:

With this new flight, Dammam will be connected to dozens of cities in Africa via Ethiopian’s hub at Addis Ababa. Convenient connections will be available to and from cities such as Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos, Accra, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe and Dakar.

Saudi Arabia is the oldest destination in the region for Ethiopian Airlines next to Yemen, and is the only country where the airline flies to three points in one country in that region. Ethiopian currently provides services to Jeddah and Riyadh.

As this route commences, Ethiopian announces a promotional fare from Addis Ababa to Dammam starting from USD 360 for a round trip ticket, which is valid for travel until 30 November 2012.

About Ethiopian

Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa, made its maiden flight to Cairo in 1946. With the addition of new flight services to Dammam, Ethiopian provides dependable services to 64 international destinations spanning four continents. Ethiopian takes pride in being a Star Alliance Member. The Star Alliance network is the leading global airline network offering customers convenient worldwide reach and a smoother travel experience with more than 21,000 daily flights to 1,290 airports in 189 countries.

Ethiopian is a multi-award winner for its commitment and contributions towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry and in recognition of its distinguished long-haul operations enhanced by the introduction of new routes and products. In the recent past, Ethiopian received the 2011 AFRAA award for being consistently profitable over the years and has won the "AFRICAN CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR 2011 Award” for its excellence in air cargo. Ethiopian also won the “NEPAD Transport Infrastructure Excellence Award 2009” and the "Airline of the Year 2009 Award” from the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).

With its acquisition of and firm orders for several new modern fleet, the airline is well positioned to pursue aggressively the implementation of its 2025 strategic plan to become the leading aviation group in Africa.